Climate change and poverty

The poorest people and the poorest countries are being hit hardest by climate change. Yet they bear least responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions.

The 2009 Human Impact Report claims that 300,000 people a year are already dying from the effects of climate change – and a further four billion are vulnerable to effects such as:

drought and water shortages

floods and other extreme weather

crop failures and food insecurity

reduced agricultural productivity

loss of low-lying lands and islands

desertification (the gradual transformation of habitable land into desert)

loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services

spread of diseases, such as malaria

Many of these expected impacts of climate change will affect people already living in the most vulnerable situations.

Climate change threatens to undermine, and even reverse, the progress we’ve made to reduce poverty and promote development.

Why climate change threatens development
Many poor people live in regions that are susceptible to changes in the climate, for example drought-prone sub-Saharan Africa, or in marginal areas such as floodplains or unstable hillsides.

Poor people also tend to rely heavily on activities such as agriculture, fishing and collecting natural resources, which are sensitive to climate change.

Poor people have limited safety nets or insurance mechanisms to help them cope with climate change-related shocks, such failed harvests linked to changing weather patterns and loss or damage linked to increased natural disasters.

All these factors mean that poor communities are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.